Latin America's Coffee Tourism

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/whitecollarvagabond">White Collar Vagabond</a> Konrad Rzasa recently stayed at a B&B on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala where he took this picture of a coffee plant. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.tours-atitlan.com/coffee.html%C2%A0">Tour Atitlan</a> runs tours to plantations where you can even take your bike. (Konrad Rzasa)

Panama <a target="_blank" href="http://coffeeadventures.net/%C2%A0">Coffee Adventures</a> in Boquete, Panama, offers visitors tours, cottage stays, and lots and lots of information about coffee. Many private homes in the region are built on former coffee plantations. (Coffee Adventures)

Colombia <a target="_blank" href="%C2%A0http://www.RawTravel.tv">Robert Rose of Raw Travel TV </a>recently visited Pereira, Colombia and stayed at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fincavillamartha.com/">Villa Martha</a>, a B&B on a working coffee farm. "Most coffee in Colombia is pretty bad since the best gets exported to places like the U.S.," he says, "but at the finca, you get the good stuff, fresh, so it's really excellent." <a target="_blank" href="http://aimtvgroup.com/rawtravelblog/2010/11/29/colombia-day-5-coffee-country">Here's more.</a> (Raw Travel)

Nicaragua <a target="_blank" href="http://www.selvanegra.com/">Selva Negra</a> is a coffee estate, sustainable farm and eco-lodge in the highlands of northern Nicaragua run by the Kuhl family, whose German ancestors started coffee farming in the 1880s. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.carelitours.com/">Careli Tours</a> offers a visit to Selva Negra along with treks to the nearby Mombacho volcano cloud forest and the glowing lava and immense crater of the Telica volcano, measuring 120 meters deep and 700 meters in diameter. (Careli Tours)

Costa Rica <a target="_blank" href="http://fincarosablanca.com/">Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation and Inn</a>, located in Santa Bárbara, Heredia, Costa Rica, offers tours of their active working coffee plantation, as well as breathtaking views and accommodation. They offer guests tours of the 30-acre plantation to learn how organic coffee is grown, harvested, dried and processed. In addition to roasting and packing their own coffee, guests participate in a "catación" or a coffee tasting, learning how the professionals determine quality and taste. (Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation and Inn)

Peru Self-confessed coffee hound Jacquie Whitt of <a target="_blank" href="www.adiosadventuretravel.com%C2%A0">Adios Adventure Travel</a> was on the way to Lake Titicaca, when she stopped at a family-run store in a small town. There on the shelves she found <a target="_blank" href="http://www.tunkicoffee.com/">Tunki</a>, a brand of coffee she had never heard of. Her guide said the beans were a special variety adapted to the local conditions, around 12,000 feet above sea level, and bought a couple bags and brought them home. She plans a return this spring to talk to the growers. Here's a picture of the town where she found Tunki. (Jacquie Whitt)

Global Exchange In Nicaragua, coffee lovers can actually help out during harvest time. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.globalexchange.org%C2%A0">Global Exchange Realty Tours</a> runs a program where you can volunteer with a Fair Trade coffee cooperative, live with a member family and work alongside the farmers to harvest the coffee. (Global Exchange)

Brazil And now, a coffee-lover's trip of a lifetime: Many coffee fans are familiar with <a target="_blank" href="%C2%A0peetscoffee.com">Peet's Coffee</a>, with roots on the West Coast. Three lucky Peet's drinkers will win a trip to Brazil to celebrate the launch of Peet’s new limited edition, single-origin Monte Alegre Coffee. The Monte Alegre Estate is a working farm, not open to tourists, which makes the prize even more special. Winners will receive an all expense-paid trip that includes three days at the Monte Alegre Estate, one of Peet’s favorite coffee farms, followed by coffee-related tours in São Paulo, Brazil. Enter at <a href="http://peetscoffee.com/">peetscoffee.com</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook/peets">www.facebook/peets</a>. (Peet's Coffee)